Word guessing games for market research

ABSTRACT

A system is described for a computer-based word-guessing game that can be used to elicit market-research data, specifically sentiment and awareness data. The two-person game involves a clue giver and a guesser, each playing on their own mobile device. The clue giver sends clues to induce the guesser to guess a given target word or phrase before a countdown clock runs out. The clues used and the guesses made can be analyzed to reveal the opinions and knowledge that the players have about products, brands, and people. The game features a novel mechanic in which the clue words are categorized according to how obvious they are. Using more-obvious clues causes the countdown clock to decrement faster, thereby making the game play more strategic and entertaining, while also incentivizing the clue giver to use less-obvious, sentiment-oriented words that are more useful for market-research purposes.

CROSS-REFERNECE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 14/070,187, filed Nov. 1, 2013, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/722,882,filed Nov. 6, 2012, entitled “Word Guessing Games for Market Research”,which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

There is a general need in commerce for companies and individuals toacquire business intelligence related to their products, brands, andmarkets. For decades, this has been done via the primary market-researchmethodologies of surveys, focus groups, and diary studies. However,these methods all suffer from similar shortcomings: very small samplesizes; unrepresentative sampling; an emphasis on stated opinion versusrevealed opinion; and high cost, as skilled individuals are needed todesign and implement market-research studies.

Analysis of blog postings and tweets has emerged recently as a new wayof tracking sentiment and awareness on all kinds of topics. Althoughtechniques such as

Twitter® mining purport to capture opinions on a scale that is vastlygreater than that possible with standard survey methods, they areproblematic for several reasons, such as: the opinions often come from avocal minority, and can be skewed to extremes; and even with the bestalgorithms, it is difficult to classify accurately the topic andpolarity of free-form text fragments.

Recently some companies have developed games that serve to elicitmarket-research or business-intelligence data from players. For example,guessing games are one type of game that may be used to collect businessintelligence. A word-guessing game is a game in which the objective isto guess a target word or phrase that describes an object, a person, ora concept. Typically these games are played co-operatively by two ormore players: one player, the clue giver, knows the target word/phrase,but cannot tell the other(s), the guesser(s), explicitly what it is.However, the clue giver can help the guessers arrive at the targetword/phrase with the help of clues. A classic example of such a guessinggame is “charades,” where a person who knows the topic or item, such asa famous person, gives indirect clues to others until someone or no onecan guess the topic or item.

KNOWSY® is an example of a game that was designed specifically to elicitmarket-research or business-intelligence data from players. One playerranks a list of favorite items around a theme, such as award-nominatedmovies, New Year's resolutions, or favorite sports teams. His partnertries to guess the order correctly. The rankings chosen by both playerscan be used to gauge the players' sentiment, awareness, and preferencesof products, brands, and people.

Another example of a game designed to elicit market-research data isHowMutch®. It is a single-person game that poses a simple question: “Howmuch would you pay for X?” X can be anything: a product, a dare, or anactivity. For example, “How much would someone have to pay you to lickthe sole of your shoe?” or “How much would you pay for an unlimitedsmartphone data plan?” Once the player enters an amount, it is matchedwith other responses to the same question and a comparison of theplayer's price versus the median price is shown.

Board games can be a source of inspiration for guessing games that canelicit market-research or business-intelligence data. The board gameTABOO® from Hasbro, Inc. is one such game. The objective of the game isfor the clue giver to have the guessers guess a given target word on acard without using the word itself or five additional words listed onthe card. For example, the clue giver might have to get the guessers tosay the word “baseball” without using the words “sport,” “game,”“pastime,” “hitter,” “pitcher,” or “baseball” itself as clues. The cluegiver may not say a part of a taboo word; for example, using “base” in“baseball” is taboo. The clue giver's hints may not rhyme with a tabooword or be an abbreviation of a taboo word.

Train of Thought® from Tasty Minstrel Games is another board game whosemechanic is potentially useful for eliciting market-research data. Inthis game the clue giver tries to get guessers to guess a given targetword on a card by giving a three-word clue, one word of which ismandated, and that cannot include the target word. In the first round,the mandated word is specified on the card. If none of the current roundof guesses is correct, the clue-giver creates another three-word clue,using one of the guessed words from the previous round and two otherwords. For example, the clue giver might have to get the guessers to saythe word “cow” by offering a three-word clue that includes the word“eats.” So the clue giver might say “what eats grass.” If any of theguessers say “cow,” then that person wins the game. If instead theguesses are “sheep,” “horse,” and “lawnmower,” then the clue giver mustuse one of these words in a second three-word clue; and so on untilsomeone guesses the target word/phrase correctly.

Brown and Marks devised a Web-based market-research game calledCascadence that was based on classic word-guessing games like Taboo® andTrain of Thought®. As in those games, the clue giver sends clues toinduce the guesser to guess a given target word or phrase. In Cascadencethe clue giver is presented with a continuous stream of clue words in aWeb browser on a computer display, with new words appearing at the topof the screen and old words scrolling off the bottom of the screen. Theclue giver can choose which words from the visible part of the stream tosend to the guesser to elicit a correct guess. The clue giver can alsoremove or reorder the words sent to the guesser to communicate furtherhints about the target word or phrase. The clue words chosen and theirde-selection and re-ordering can be interpreted to generatemarket-research data. However, as in the above conventional board games,there is no incentive for the clue giver to use words that are morerevealing of sentiment or knowledge than other words. Moreover, becausethe number of words visible at any point in the game play is restricted,it is difficult for the clue giver to compare different words for theirrevelatory power before sending them as clues. Finally, theimplementation of the game on a Web browser limits the ability to playthe game, as users needed to have access to a suitable networkconnection, computer, and display.

There is therefore a need for a new guessing game on a new platform tocollect primary market-research data from consumers that is morerevelatory of players' opinions and knowledge, and that is moreaccessible and engaging.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1(a) illustrates mobile devices connected via a communicationsnetwork in accordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 1(b) illustrates an initial menu screen in accordance with at leastone embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates an interface while waiting for another player inaccordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates contents of an example player database in accordancewith at least one embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example process for pairing game partners that canbe used in accordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example interface wherein another player has beenfound, the two players have been paired, and the game is set to begin;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example clue-giver's screen, showing the obviousclues for the target word ‘Brand-R,’ a hypothetical manufacturer ofathletic shoes. The countdown clock is decremented by 30 seconds foreach of these clues that is sent to the guesser in this embodiment;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example clue-giver's screen, showing the mid-levelclues for the target word ‘Brand-R.’ The countdown clock is decrementedby 10 seconds for each of these clues that is sent to the guesser;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example clue-giver's screen, showing thesentiment-oriented clues for the target word ‘Brand-R.’ The countdownclock is not affected by the use of these clues;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example guesser's screen, showing four clues fromthe clue giver and the first guess from the guesser;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example results screen, showing results fromseveral rounds of play in one game between the same players alternatingin the roles of clue giver and guesser;

FIG. 11 illustrates two example word clouds showing the relativefrequency with which the free, sentiment-oriented words were chosen forthe target word ‘Brand-R’ on the left and the target word ‘Brand-P’ onthe right;

FIG. 12 illustrates two example word clouds showing the relativefrequency with which the mid-level, activity-oriented words were chosenfor the target word ‘Brand-N’ on the left and the target word ‘Brand-P’on the right;

FIG. 13 is a plot illustrating an example frequency with which twodifferent demographic categories, males aged 18-24 and females aged18-24, used the clue ‘fuel’ for the target word ‘Brand-N’ over asix-month period in which Brand-N began promoting a new product called‘fuel’;

FIG. 14 illustrates example power-up options that can be provided inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 15 illustrates example components of a computing device that can beutilized in accordance with various embodiments; and

FIG. 16 illustrates an example environment in which various embodimentscan be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments include a word-guessing game that both entertains andelicits market-research or business-intelligence data. It is designed asa two-person game that involves a clue giver and a guesser, but teamplay is contemplated. The clue giver sends clues to induce the guesserto guess a given target word or phrase before a countdown clock runsout. The clues used must all come from one of several clue-word listsassociated with the given target word/phrase. The clue giver can viewthe lists in their entirety at any time during the game. The clue listsare classified according to how obvious the clues are. Measures ofobviousness include: the standard information-retrieval measure of usagefrequency in spoken or written language; or the frequency of clueselection within the game. As clues are selected by the clue giver, thecost incurred for giving each clue is recorded in the system and mayaffect game play. For example, in one embodiment, using more-obviousclues causes the countdown clock to decrement faster. The clue givermust therefore decide what mix of obvious and non-obvious clues to useso as to minimize the time lost on the countdown clock before theguesser identifies the target word, thereby making the game play morestrategic and more entertaining than traditional games, some of whichare described herein. This mechanic also incentivizes the clue giver touse less-obvious, sentiment-oriented words that are more useful formarket-research purposes.

High-quality games are inherently engaging over long periods of time, asdedicated players play their favorite games again and again. Mobilegames are played by all demographics. And game play may tap intoinstinctual, revealed preferences that are less susceptible than surveydata to contextual issues and demand characteristics (“Why am I beingasked this?” “What do they want me to say?” “How do I finish this taskas quickly as possible?”). So by structuring games appropriately formarket-research purposes, ambiguity and uncertainty in topic andpolarity classification can be avoided; by tapping into the broaddemographics that play casual mobile games, representative sampling canbe performed; and by weaving data collection into engaging game play,revealed sentiment can be measured while avoiding the extremes thatoccur in unprompted expression. For these and other reasons, data miningof specialized mobile games is an exciting new approach to gatheringmarket-research.

To this end, the inventors have invented Name Game, a word-guessing gameplayed on mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, etc. In oneembodiment the game is played by two people, but in other embodimentsthree or more can play. In the two-player embodiment shown in FIG. 1(a),the system 100 comprises mobile client devices 001 that are connectedvia a communications network 002 to a game server running on a cloudcomputer 003. A game consists of multiple rounds of play. When a playeractivates the Name Game app on their mobile device, the menu screen 120in FIG. 1(b) is presented to them. From this screen they can choose viaa screen button 122 to play the game. At this point the player isinformed via the screen 200 in FIG. 2 that the game server is lookingfor another player who is also waiting to play the game. The game serverconsiders the data in the player database 300, shown in FIG. 3, whenpotentially pairing two players. The data in the database consists ofplayer IDs 301, demographic data 302, and data about the players'playing skill and interests 303. The pairing algorithm 400 is shown inFIG. 4. The players waiting to play are stored in the game room 402. Instep 403 the player who has been waiting the longest is picked as playerP1. Step 404 checks if there is a candidate player P2 who is also in thegame room and who has not yet been considered for pairing with playerP1. If all the players have been considered and none is an ideal match,then P2 is picked randomly 406 and players P1 and P2 are paired 408. Ifa candidate partner P2 is identified at step 404, then that player istested for demographic compatibility with player P1 405. For example,two players would be considered as demographically compatible if theyhad similar values for their demographic attributes 302 in the playerdatabase. If a candidate partner P2 is still in consideration after step405, then that player is tested for skill and interest compatibilitywith player P1 407. For example, two players would be considered asbeing compatible if they had similar values for their skill and interestattributes 303 in the player database. If a candidate partner P2 passesboth steps 405 and 407 then players P1 and P2 are paired 408. Whenplayer pairing happens at step 408, the players are informed via thescreen display 500 in FIG. 5 that they have a playing partner and thegame is about to commence. The skill, interests 303, and pastachievements in the game of the other player are depicted by the badgeimages 501, so that each player has some knowledge about the skill andinterests of the player with whom he is paired.

During each round of play in which one name or word is guessed, oneplayer is the clue giver, and the other is the guesser. The clue giveris presented with a target word or phrase and must send clues to theguesser that induce him to guess the given target word/phrase as quicklyas possible. In FIG. 6 the clue-giver's screen 600 is showing that thetarget word is ‘Brand-R’ 601, which is worth 150 points 602 to eachplayer if the word is correctly guessed by the guesser. If the targetword is too difficult, the clue giver can opt to skip it by pressing theskip button 606. However, skipping a target word reduces the maximumscore achievable in a game.

In one embodiment, the target word or phrase may be configured usingobjects or symbols, images of objects, virtual objects, images generatedprocedurally, and the like. For example, the word “tree” may beillustrated using an image, which may be made using virtually any imagegeneration method, such as a picture, drawing, painting, lines, dots,and the like.

The object may also be represented by a negative or absence thereof or acollection of images to form the object. For example, a tree outlined bya background, or tree illustrated by a bunch of leaves that are notinterconnected, or a collage of other images formed to be a tree 25image.

In another embodiment, the objects may be symbolic or added to createmeaning.

For example, a “banana milk shake” where a banana is shown then the “+”sign, then a “milk” container, then a “+” sign, then a “shaking object”with an “=” sign at the end to convey the sum of the image meanings is a“banana milk shake”.

In one embodiment, Name Game, all the clues sent to the guesser by theclue giver are derived from one of three lists: an “obvious” list wherethe clues are most helpful to the guesser, shown in FIG. 6; a“mid-level” list with clues that are less obvious, shown in FIG. 7; anda “sentiment” list, containing only generic sentiment words, shown inFIG. 8. Included in all of these word lists are distractor words, toforce people to concentrate and think carefully about the words theyselect as clues. Words are chosen by selecting them via a touch screenor stylus. There is a cost incurred for each word chosen. The cost isrecorded in the system and may affect game play. In this embodiment,choosing a word from the obvious list decrements the countdown clock 603by 30 seconds; a word from the mid-level list decrements it by 10seconds; and words from the sentiment list do not incur any extrapenalty, hence those clue words are ‘free’. The game is thus structuredto encourage the clue giver to provide sentiment associations overfactual and obvious associations (although these can also be useful froma market-research perspective). The clue giver can move between theseword-list screens by selecting one of the appropriate tabs 604. The cluegiver can adopt various strategies in choosing which combination ofobvious, mid-level, and sentiment words to send.

At the point in the game depicted in FIGS. 6-9, the clue giver haschosen the following clues to induce the guesser to guess ‘Brand-R’:‘crossfit’ 605 from the obvious list, ‘jogging’ 701 from the mid-levellist; and ‘cool’ 801 and ‘fashionable’ 802 from the sentiment list.

The guesser's screen 900 at the same moment in the game is shown in FIG.9. He has received the clues 901 sent by the clue giver. The guessertypes in his guesses via the soft keyboard 902 and sends it to the cluegiver by pressing the ‘submit’ button 903. In the game depicted, theguesser's initial guess is ‘sneakers’ 607, 904.

When the countdown clock 603, 905 reaches zero the game ends and theresults from the several rounds of play comprising one complete game aresummarized in the results screen 1000 shown in FIG. 10.

As an example, the selected clue words in the example scenario fromFIGS. 6-9 show an awareness of a recent Brand-R product initiative,‘crossfit; an association of Brand-R with jogging; and some positivesentiment about the brand. By integrating game-play data from thousandsof highly engaged players over days, weeks, or months, we can discernsignificant patterns of awareness and sentiment. FIGS. 11-13 showhypothetical visualizations of such integrated data. FIG. 11 containstwo word clouds 1100 that show the relative frequency with which free,sentiment-oriented words were chosen for the target word ‘Brand-R’ onthe left and the target word ‘Brand-P’ on the right. The word cloudsshow that Brand-R′s shoes are perceived as colorful and fashionable,whereas Brand-P′s shoes are perceived as cheap and retro. FIG. 12contains two word clouds 1200 that show the relative frequency withwhich mid-level, activity words were associated with the target words‘Brand-N’ on the left and ‘Brand-P’ on the right. The word clouds showthat Brand-N was associated primarily with running, football, andbasketball, whereas Brand-P is associated primarily with soccer.Finally, the chart 1300 in FIG. 13 shows the relative selectionfrequency of the clue ‘fuel’ for the target word ‘Brand-N’ by twodemographic segments over a six-month period in which Brand-N introduceda new product called ‘fuel’. This visualization therefore tracks thedegree to which the new product campaign has been noticed by males andfemales in the 18-24 age range: males were more receptive to thecampaign than females, with both groups going from low initial namerecognition to high recognition, and then to the beginning of a declinein recognition as the marketing campaign slackened.

Finally, the screen display 1400 in FIG. 14 shows a list of power-upsfor the Name Game game. Power-ups unlock entertaining game features thatcan be given to players as rewards or that can be sold to players forvirtual or real currency. The power-ups for Name Game listed in FIG. 14are:

-   -   Time Warp: This reduces the time penalty for each clue during        one round of play.    -   Spacey: This power-up tells the guesser how many letters are in        the target word.    -   Scape Goat: With this power-up, the clue giver can decide to        pass on a given target word and substitute a new one with no        time penalty.    -   Strength: Playing this power-up gives the clue giver a list of        clue words that have worked well in the past for other players        who were given the same target word.    -   Time Out: This enables the clue giver to freeze the countdown        clock for a period of time, during which the guesser can still        type in guesses.    -   Social Snob: Either player can use this power-up, which        increases the degree of similarity in skill and interests used        in the player-pairing algorithm 400.    -   Peek: The guesser can use this power-up to obtain a momentary        glimpse of all the obvious clues that are available to the clue        giver.    -   Scholar: Either player can use this power-up to pick a theme for        the target words in all the rounds of a complete game.    -   Tip Off: This gives the guesser the first letter of the target        word.    -   Play-by-Play: This power-up adds some additional words to the        free list, in particular words that can be used to direct the        guesser, such as ‘warm’, ‘cold’, ‘almost’, etc.    -   Tough: This power can be used to change the target words to make        them easier or harder to guess.

In other embodiments, the target words and clue lists presented to theplayers may depend on physical context. For example, certain targetwords and clues may be associated with specific geographic locations,e.g., ‘sneakers’ and ‘tennis shoes’ are the preferred terms for athleticshoes in different parts of the United States. The context may even bevery local, with different target words and clues used if the playersare in different types of buildings, such as a church, workplace, home,hotel, store, restaurant, and the like. The location data used toestablish context may be derived from user-supplied data in the playerdatabase 300 or by using a technological method such as GPS, IP address,etc.

In one embodiment, the domains of the target words presented to theplayers may be varied based on the interests listed in the user-supplieddata in the player database 300, or in response to user input by theplayers. In another embodiment, the reading level of the target wordsand clues presented to the players may be varied based on user-supplieddata in the player database 300, or in response to user input by theplayers.

In order for the Name Game game to be as entertaining as possible andalso for the game to elicit the most useful market-research data, caremust be taken to derive suitable and varied target words and clue lists.The cost of deriving target words and clue lists for Name Game canrepresent a significant fraction of the development cost for the entiresystem. It is therefore advantageous to develop cost-effective means forderiving target words and clue lists.

In one embodiment, target words and clue words may be generated bycrowdsourcing, i.e., receiving responses to queries by teams of humancontributors, typically via the Internet. For example, the clues may begenerated by posing a question to a crowdsourcing service such asAmazon's Mechanical Turk® and then retrieving answers. A question like“what things are blue?” could be sent to several participants in thecrowdsourcing system and their answers combined and filtered to improvequality. For example, one player might answer “water”, “sky”, and“berries”, while another might answer “sky”, “mold”, and “jazz”. Bypicking only words that are reported multiple times, like “sky” in thisexample, the quality and obviousness of the words can be improved.

In another embodiment, target words and clue words for the Name Gamegame may be crowdsourced by having human contributors play a word game.For example, a game like Pictionary® could be used to get contributorsto generate lists of words that describe the same drawn image.

Clues may also be generated by extracting words, objects, and the likefrom on-line and physical documents. For example, an OCR device may beconfigured to “read” documents to extract words, or a Web ‘bot’ could beconfigured to extract target words and clue words from documents on theWorld Wide Web.

FIG. 15 illustrates a logical arrangement of a set of general componentsof an example computing device 1500 that is used in the Name Game system100. In this example, the device includes at least one processor 1502for executing instructions that can be stored in a memory device orelement 1504. As would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art,the device can include many types of memory, data storage, ornon-transitory computer-readable storage media, such as a first datastorage for program instructions for execution by the processor 1502, aseparate storage for images or data, a removable memory for sharinginformation with other devices, etc. The device typically will includesome type of display element 1506, such as a touch screen or liquidcrystal display (LCD), although devices such as portable media playersmight convey information via other means, such as through audiospeakers. As discussed, the device in many embodiments will include atleast one input element 1512 able to receive conventional input from auser. This conventional input can include, for example, a push button,touch pad, touch screen, wheel, joystick, keyboard, mouse, keypad, orany other such device or element whereby a user can input a command tothe device. In some embodiments, however, such a device might notinclude any buttons at all, and might be controlled only through acombination of visual and audio commands, such that a user can controlthe device without having to be in contact with the device. In someembodiments, the computing device 1500 of FIG. 15 can include one ormore network interface elements 1508 for communicating over variousnetworks, such as a Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, RF, wired, or wirelesscommunication systems. The device in many embodiments can communicatewith a network, such as the Internet, and may be able to communicatewith other such devices. The example device can include one or moreaudio elements 1510 as well, such as may include one or more speakersfor generating audio output and/or one or more microphones for receivingaudio input, such as voice commands from a user.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example environment 1600 in which variousembodiments can be implemented. Example environments discussed hereinfor implementing aspects in accordance with various embodiments areprimarily Web-based, as relate to Web services and cloud computing, butit should be appreciated that, although a Web-based environment is usedfor purposes of explanation, different environments may be used, asappropriate, to implement various embodiments. Client devices 1602 usedwith various embodiments can include any appropriate device operable tosend and receive requests, messages, or information over at least oneappropriate network 1604 and convey information back to a user of thedevice. Examples of such client devices include personal computers,smart phones, handheld messaging devices, laptop computers, set-topboxes, personal data assistants, electronic book readers, and the like.The network can include any appropriate network, including an intranet,the Internet, a cellular network, a local area network, or any othersuch network or combination thereof. Components used for such a systemcan depend at least in part upon the type of network and/or environmentselected. Protocols and components for communicating via such a networkare well known and will not be discussed herein in detail. Communicationover the network can be enabled by wired or wireless connections, andcombinations thereof.

In at least some embodiments, a request from the client device can bereceived to an interface layer 1606 associated with a destinationaddress of the request, where the interface layer can include componentssuch as routers, load balancers, application programming interfaces, andthe like. The interface layer can receive the request and directinformation for the request to one or more computing resources, such asone or more Web servers 1608 and/or one or more application servers1610., which can process the request using data in one or more datastores or databases 1612 in at least some embodiments. It should beunderstood that there can be several application servers, layers, orother elements, processes, or components, which may be chained orotherwise configured, which can interact to perform tasks as discussedand suggested herein. As used herein a data store refers to any deviceor combination of devices capable of storing, accessing, and retrievingdata, which may include any combination and number of data servers,databases, data storage devices, and data storage media, in anystandard, distributed, or clustered environment. A server can includeany appropriate hardware and software for integrating with the datastore as needed to execute aspects of one or more applications for theclient device, handling a majority of the data access and business logicfor an application. The application server provides access controlservices in cooperation with the data store, and is able to generatecontent such as text, graphics, audio, and/or video to be transferred tothe user, which may be served to the user by the Web server in the formof HTML, XML, or another appropriate structured language in thisexample. The handling of all requests and responses, as well as thedelivery of content between a client device and a resource, can behandled by the Web server. It should be understood that the Web andapplication servers are not required and are merely example components,as structured code discussed herein can be executed on any appropriatedevice or host machine as discussed elsewhere herein.

Each server typically will include an operating system that providesexecutable program instructions for the general administration andoperation of that server, and typically will include a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by aprocessor of the server, allow the server to perform its intendedfunctions. Suitable implementations for the operating system and generalfunctionality of the servers are known or commercially available, andare readily implemented by persons having ordinary skill in the art,particularly in light of the disclosure herein.

The environment in one embodiment is a distributed computing environmentutilizing several computer systems and components that areinterconnected via communication links, using one or more computernetworks or direct connections. However, it will be appreciated by thoseof ordinary skill in the art that such a system could operate equallywell in a system having fewer or a greater number of components than areillustrated in FIG. 16. Thus, the depictions of various systems andservices herein should be taken as being illustrative in nature, and notlimiting to the scope of the disclosure.

Various aspects can be implemented as part of at least one service orWeb service. Services such as Web services can communicate using anyappropriate type of messaging, such as by using messages in extensiblemarkup language (XML) format and exchanged using an appropriate protocolsuch as SOAP (derived from the “Simple Object Access Protocol”).Processes provided or executed by such services can be written in anyappropriate language, such as the Web Services Description Language(WSDL). Using a language such as WSDL allows for functionality such asthe automated generation of client-side code in various SOAP frameworks.Various embodiments utilize at least one network that would be familiarto those skilled in the art for supporting communications using any of avariety of commercially-available protocols, such as TCP/IP. The networkcan be, for example, a local area network, a wide-area network, avirtual private network, the Internet, an intranet, a cellular network,an extranet, a public switched telephone network, an infrared network, awireless network, and any combination thereof. Server(s) may be capableof executing programs or scripts in response requests from user devices,such as by executing one or more Web applications that may beimplemented as one or more scripts or programs written in anyprogramming language, such as Java° or C++, or any scripting language,such as Perl or Python, as well as combinations thereof. The server(s)may also include any of a number of different database servers.

The environment can include a variety of data stores and other memoryand storage media as discussed above. These can reside in a variety oflocations, such as on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) oneor more of the computers or remote from any or all of the computersacross the network. In a particular set of embodiments, the informationmay reside in a storage-area network. Similarly, any necessary files forperforming the functions attributed to the computers, servers, or othernetwork devices may be stored locally and/or remotely, as appropriate.Where a system includes computerized devices, each such device caninclude hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via a bus,the elements including, for example, at least one central processingunit (CPU), at least one input device (e.g., a mouse, keyboard,controller, touch screen, or keypad), and at least one output device(e.g., a display device, printer, or speaker). Such a system may alsoinclude one or more storage devices, such as disk drives, opticalstorage devices, and solid-state storage devices such as random accessmemory (“RAM”) or read-only memory (“ROM”), as well as removable mediadevices, memory cards, flash cards, etc.

Such devices also can include a computer-readable storage media reader,a communications device (e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless orwired), an infrared communication device, etc.), and working memory asdescribed above. The computer-readable storage media reader can beconnected with, or configured to receive, a computer-readable storagemedium, representing remote, local, fixed, and/or removable storagedevices as well as storage media for temporarily and/or more permanentlycontaining, storing, transmitting, and retrieving computer-readableinformation. The system and various devices also typically will includea number of software applications, modules, services, or other elementslocated within at least one working memory device, including anoperating system and application programs, such as a client applicationor Web browser. It should be appreciated that alternate embodiments mayhave numerous variations from that described above. For example,customized hardware might also be used and/or particular elements mightbe implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, suchas applets), or both. Further, connection to other computing devicessuch as network input/output devices may be employed.

Storage media and computer readable media for containing code, orportions of code, can include any appropriate media known or used in theart, including storage media and communication media, such as but notlimited to volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage and/or transmissionof information such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data, including RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memoryor other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which canbe used to store the desired information and which can be accessed bythe a system device. Based on the disclosure and teachings providedherein, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate other waysand/or methods to implement the various embodiments.

The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It will, however, beevident that various modifications and changes may be made thereuntowithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention asset forth in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for a guessing game comprising: a meansfor pairing two players; a first graphical interface with which a firstplayer of the guessing game can give clues to a second player to inducehim to guess a target word; a first database for recording said clues; asecond graphical interface with which a second player of the guessinggame can view the clues sent by the first player and can enter guessesfor the target word; a second database for recording said guesses; ameans for recording a cost incurred for giving each clue; an indicationin the first graphical interface of the cost associated with each clue.2. The system of claim 1 wherein: the cost incurred for giving each cluereflects the obviousness of the clue.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein:a shared countdown clock visible in the first graphical interface and inthe second graphical interface indicates the time remaining for theplayers to play one game.
 4. The system of claim 3 wherein: the costincurred for giving each clue is a specific adjustment to the sharedcountdown clock.
 5. The system of claim 1 wherein: the cost incurred forgiving each clue is specified in a currency.
 6. The system of claim 1wherein: the means of pairing two players matches the players by one ormore of geographic location, common interests, and skill level.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein: the basic game play can be modified by use ofa power-up.
 8. The system of claim 7 wherein: the power-up reduces thecost for each clue.
 9. The system of claim 7 wherein: said power-uptells said second player how many letters are in said target word. 10.The system of claim 7 wherein: said power-up allows said first player topass on said target word and obtain a new target word.
 11. The system ofclaim 7 wherein: said power-up allows said second player to see thefirst letter of said target word.
 12. The system of claim 1 wherein:said clues were generated via crowdsourcing.
 13. The system of claim 1wherein: the data stored in said first and second databases can beanalyzed to generate consumer intelligence.
 14. A computer-implementedmethod, comprising: pairing, using at least one device processor, twoplayers; providing a first graphical interface with which a first playerof a guessing game can give clues to a second player to induce him toguess a target word; recording the clues in a first database; providinga second graphical interface with which a second player of the guessinggame can view the clues sent by the first player and can enter guessesfor the target word; recording the guesses in a second database;recording a cost incurred for giving each clue; providing an indicationin the first graphical interface of the cost incurred for giving eachclue.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium includinginstructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computersystem, cause the computer system to: pair, using at least one deviceprocessor, two players; provide a first graphical interface with which afirst player of the guessing game can give clues to a second player toinduce him to guess a target word; record the clues in a first database;provide a second graphical interface with which a second player of theguessing game can view the clues sent by the first player and can enterguesses for the target word; record the guesses in a second database;record a cost incurred for giving each clue; provide an indication inthe first graphical interface of the cost incurred for giving each clue.